


A Man on the Inside

by Elendiliel



Series: Lightning Strikes [4]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Order 66 Aftermath (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28627890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elendiliel/pseuds/Elendiliel
Summary: Order 66 has far-reaching consequences for both Jedi and clones. But as far as Lightning Squadron, and especially its second-in-command, are concerned, they're not quite what was intended.
Series: Lightning Strikes [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087898
Kudos: 4





	A Man on the Inside

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, this is a follow-up to "Orders are Orders". The same caveats apply.

Some things you know you’ll never forget, even as they happen. For Torrent, pulling the trigger on his CO was one of them. He caught her as she fell, still graceful, still strong, her sabre still in her hand, and checked for a pulse. Stun bolts aren’t a hundred percent safe, but as far as he could tell Hel was fine. She’d have quite a headache in several hours when she woke up, but that was all. Physically, at least.

No time to waste. He picked her up and passed her to Fives, one of his brothers. “Get out of here, fast. Stick to the plan as much as possible. I’ll contact you as soon as it’s safe.” The rest of Lightning Squadron – Echo, Fives and Spark – didn’t argue, or comment, but made for the rear exit they hadn’t _quite_ blocked off as instructed, sealing it behind them. Torrent was left alone.

He took a lightsabre from the recesses of the first-aid kit, ignited it and put it down just where hers would have fallen if she’d fought back, and if he’d actually killed her. With a bit of luck, nobody would be able to tell that it was the wrong design. It _was_ hers – confiscated from General Grievous, who had taken it from a friend of hers he’d murdered. Torrent had removed it from her pack some months previously. A kyber crystal in the wreckage would help create the effect they wanted. So would the others’ helmets and pieces of their armour, which they’d left behind for precisely that purpose.

Satisfied that the scene was adequately set, he stepped outside the room, half-closed the door and carefully aimed for one of the charges Echo and Fives had placed around the command centre, making sure he was well shielded from the blast even though he had no intention of hanging around. He shut the door the moment the laser hit the bomb, but the explosion still scorched his armour as he ran from the building.

It was only when he was safely aboard a gunship heading back to Coruscant that he had time to process what had just happened. When he and his brothers had found out about Order 66, as they now knew it was called, they hadn’t even considered the possibility of going through with it. Hel was their _sister_. But they, and especially he, the only one with a fragment of control chip still in his brain, had to look as though they were obeying orders as much as possible. Now he could honestly say that he had fired on his commander, that a laser bolt had set off an explosion, and that only he had escaped it. If he spun it right, he could cover up the others’ flight without directly lying.

One thing he wouldn’t tell _anyone_ was that Hel had kissed him before her “death”. That memory would stay with him for a long time as well, as she had intended. They hadn’t let her in on their plans, their loyalty even to her partially overridden by their conditioning, so she had truly believed she was about to die, and had bent the rules by which she lived to give him a parting gift, before asking him not to mourn her or regret his choice. He didn’t blame her, but it had made leaving her and the others harder.

They were approaching headquarters for debriefing. Torrent buried the memories he had to keep hidden, the way Hel had taught him. He made it through the official reporting-in process without any outright untruths, and was packed off to barracks while his next assignment was discussed. Word had clearly got around, because his brothers were giving him plenty of space, up until Commander Cody sat down in front of him in the mess hall.

“I heard what happened to your team. I served with Fives and Echo a fair few times. They were good men, and they’ll be missed.”

“Yes, sir. They will.” Torrent didn’t meet his superior’s eyes.

“I never knew a Jedi go down easy, but Abbasa must have put up quite a fight. It’s surprising. The few times I met her, she didn’t strike me as the type.”

“You never saw her in combat. She was – quite something.” Torrent couldn’t keep the admiration out of his voice.

“I’m sure she was. I suppose when your life is in danger, you’ll do anything to try to survive.”

“She didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Things just got out of hand.” That was safe, as long as Cody didn’t ask _which_ things. The whole _galaxy_ had got out of hand.

“As they tend to do.” Cody glanced around to check that no-one was in earshot, then lowered his voice. “But Abbasa wouldn’t have fought back. Not against her brothers. She’d rather have died. And you wouldn’t have killed her. You loved her too much.” Had it been that obvious? “She was your sister.” Maybe not. Cody lowered his voice further. “They’re still alive, aren’t they? Don’t tell me; it’s obvious. I’m guessing somewhere in the Outer Rim. They’re not the only ones. Kenobi got clear, I know. Probably Tano, and there’ll be others. They won’t give up easily.”

“General Abbasa is dead.” Torrent hoped saying it out loud would help him believe it. “Along with CT-1409, ARC-5555 and CT-1284.”

“But Hel, Echo, Fives and Spark are alive.” Cody’s tone carried no hint of blame or threat. He knew Order 66 had been wrong, and was glad that at least a few people had escaped. As long as there was no proof, he wouldn’t take action.

“What do we do now?”

“We follow orders. We were bred to serve the Republic; now, we serve the Empire, and its people. That’s our job. Can I count on you, soldier?”

Torrent considered the question. He was a clone trooper, created to fight. Rather than disobey his programming, he had hurt the woman he loved, letting her believe he was killing her. But he _hadn’t_ killed her. He knew he wouldn’t leave the army, but maybe he could do some good for the people of the galaxy. That had been the idea, after all. Lightning Squadron had gone rogue, but they still needed a man on the inside. He could do that. Was that what Cody was driving at? Either way, the answer to the Commander’s question was the same. “Yes, sir. You can count on me.”


End file.
